CureMode

The Master Replica Collector's Edition (CE) will pretty much match your FX armor. The Rubies one is crap, cheaply made, bug eyes that are attached from the front, mis-shaped, horrible mic tips, incorrect decals, just to name a few issues. Just about any other helmet, even an FX type helmet, would be light years ahead of the Rubies. If you are just looking for 501st approval, an FX Helmet is an option. But, if you do the research here on FISD, you should be able to find a helmets in the same price range ($150 - 300) that are more accurate and can be FISD EIB approved.

Don't waste your time with that Rubie's one, issues with it are far to numerous to mention. If you are looking for a budget helmet, the Master Replica CE one can work great with some mods documented here at FISD. They go for $100-150 on ebay, and you can ask around here, and at the 501st boards for some non-fx kits that go for anywhere from $200-400.

I did a troop last weekend as well for the Pottery Barn Kids Star Wars product line, at Roosevelt Field Mall in Westbury, Long Island. The troop started around 10am and there were already 40-50 folks lined up to get in. It was non-stop photos and autographs right up until 12pm. They estimated we took over 350 photos. They ran the line very well, and everyone got a chance at a photo and autograph.

Did a Pottery Barn Kids event, had nearly 400 kids take photos. Took the kids to the mall after for lunch, and did some stuff around the house.

I was in NYC working in a building on 18th street on the 13th floor. We saw the whole thing unfold, and we were stunned when the second plane hit. We were told to stay put, but after the first tower fell we all fled the scene. I remember the mayhem with the Subway and LIRR shut down, and walking over the 59th st bridge, as I watched the second tower fall. It was traumatic, but nowhere near the devastation the families of those who lost loved ones, both in the building, and those who were trying to save them. We need to remember them, and hope nothing like that ever happens again.

Try looking at Tony Barnett's page. I bought the Venacava Designs Kit and bought additional snaps and straps from Walmart as I needed them. The pliers really help and his tutorial is great. I used snaps for everything except the back of the Calves and Thighs, and the Shoulder straps. http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html

6 - Getting to meet "famous" folks like Weird Al. 5 - Being a much cooler geek than the dad down the street. 4 - Free Movies and Cons. 3 - Free Popcorn and Soda. 2 - Teaching kids Blasters can be your friend. 1 - Helping kids in need.

Here's my Elite ANH Hero setup. Spent the past year tweaking my Armor and getting a new helmet. I replaced the FX shoulder bells and biceps as well, and added a Commlink and Grappling Hook. Thanks to Evo and VacTrooper for the Grapple and box, I have had a lot of very positive feedback about them and how accurate they are. Same with the Latex hand guards from R2Dan, they are a pain, you have to repaint them after every troop, but that's how they really were for the heros. These were taken by Phillip Moy from my garrison (ECG) and he did a fantastic job. I used the first shot for my photo for the rotating featured costume section on the 501st main page. ------

I did mine hero.. the ears can line up pretty well. I like the minimal frown, and the bubble lenses. I have to say you can't see well out of them at all, especially in mine. I added an extra lens layer to make them darker so you can't see in at all, but in low light I am blind, not to mention the warping effect.

I used the snap Stormtrooper kit from the UK... ----------- Recommended by Tony Barnett's tutorial... http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html The tool works great and Tony's guide gives you all the steps. The only thing I didn't do was the extra belt thing for the thighs, I just connected them to the back of the ab plate with and elastic strip and snaps. You can get additional stretchy material in black, white ribbon for the ammo boxes, and additional Heavy Duty Snaps at Wal-Mart in the fabric dept. Snaps are the way to go for most of the interconnections. With the pliers in the kit I never had a problem with the male snaps not being flush on the abs strips I was using. Just one tip, always pre-punch the hole in the straps with the tool, it prevents the snaps from pulling through the fabric, and double up where possible. In a few spots I was able to wrap the elastic around the snap head before securing it. I had to use the hammer method in a few spots where I put the snaps directly in the armor and it was tough to get it right.

There is a guy (piratetrooper) on ebay selling Flexible HIPS armor. Don't know who he is or where his stuff came from, any info? Ebay Link

I caught some of it on Spike too, and it was the first time I noticed the trooper in ESB with the right shoulder bell completely fallen off and hanging on his elbow, when they lead Han into the carbonite chamber. If they could fix Han's vest in that scene in the "Special Edition", why didn't they correct that?

I am trooping a Regal Cinema Saturday from 12-2pm in Brooklyn NY. Its for the Puppetry Arts Theater, who do activities for underprivileged kids in the area, Regal is sponsoring the even in the lobby. I am bringing the wife and kids, they can see a movie there, while I do my thing. Later we are all going to see the band Harry and the Potters at the Bell House in Brooklyn. We all love the band, they sing songs about the Harry Potter universe, as if they were Harry Potter. Coincidentally, this will be their 501st show.

I did the mod without any resistor and it seems to work fine if done like this (notice the red wire in the lower left). For me its been working fine for over 6 months and it amplifies my Radio Shack PC non-powered Mic.

Definitely MR CEs. They must be 501st, they both had TK numbers on their shoulders. I would love to know how they got that gig. They tell him a "There's a UFO Convention is in town.." , come on they couldn't say Star Wars / Sci-Fi Convention for goodness sake...

That's pretty darn impressive for a 16 year old, I'd say its better than any of the rubies. You must have been a handy and resourceful kid.

Looks great Skutch, we have to compare notes. Why would you want to keep such a great set of armor secret?

I found these on ebay for $7 shipped.. They don't have a visible logo, and they have a dimple texture on the palms. They have worked out really well so far and they are pretty accurate. I was using some lycra diving gloves, which are great in the cold, but when its hot and you sweat in them they get a bit funky, if you know what I mean. I do wash them but it got to be a pain having to do that after almost every troop. With the rubber ones you just rinse them out and your ready to go. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...N:IT&ih=023

Here is Stomper... No matter how much he crys, no matter how much he begs, never ever feed him after 9PM... or you will get this...

I swear by SlimFast and Wii Fit since using them for the past 6 months to lose almost 40 lbs. I am 37, 5'11", and had went from around 150lbs to almost 185lbs over the past 10 years. I joined the 501st back in April, and felt uncomfortable and a bit squashed in my armor. I am not much of a dieter, and I don't exercise very much, so since getting married and having twin girls, I slowly started getting overweight, especially in the gut. I started using SlimFast shakes for breakfast and lunch everyday with only occasional exceptions. The funny thing is I never used to eat breakfast at all, but I read an article about how it is a critical meal, and if you skip it you end up overeating for lunch. I would then eat a balanced dinner, with a reasonable portion. I stopped eating chips and having large bowls of Ice Cream every night (what was I thinking), and I just have one Italian Ice for a dessert. At first it was a bit difficult, I was getting a bit hungry about mid day, but I managed to stick with it. It also actually saved me a bundle, I was spending $5-$7 on lunch everyday, and the shakes are only about $1.25. I also saved on all the junk food and Ice Cream. I also tried to exercise a bit more with some situps, and some additional walking. In my building at work there was a back parking lot, just a 30 sec walk from my office. I started parking on the opposite side of the building so I would get a good 8 minute walk each way (its a big building). I also got the Wii Fit pad, and I tried to use it 3-4 times a week for 20 minutes. I really think that also helps you get a good balanced work out, without too much hassle, and the games are fun. It also tracks your progress with body tests, so you know exactly how much weight your losing and it has cool graphs to show your progress. I am now actually about 4lbs below my original goal of getting back to 150lbs, so I only eat one SlimFast for Breakfast and I try to have a reasonable lunch and a balanced dinner. I keep up with the exercise, and track my weight with the Wii Fit to keep it in that range. I have had to trim and adjust my armor three times as the weight came off, so I have to maintain it now. My wife still can't believe it, she had been bugging me for years to eat better and exercise, and I never did it. It took the 501st to give me the proper motivation, fitting into my armor better.

I used ABS cement on the front, then Industrial Velcro on the backs, and they stay closed. I use the full wide strip down the entire length, its sometimes hard to get them apart actually. Industrial Velcro comes in white and black and is 2x as wide as regular Velcro and in my opinion at least 2 x as strong, especially sideways holding. Also the glue on the strips is much stronger. One other tip I learned the hard way, when cementing the seam down the front use blue painter's tape to tape off the front face right next to the ridge on the thigh. This way if some on the glue squishes out, or you mislay it over the other one, it doesn't get glue on the front. I started doing that when cementing all my parts.

Just emailed you, way too slow....

I wish they had have taken more care with this, instead more overpriced crap from Rubies. I thought the eyes in the helmet looked more like bulldog eyes. ----------

Shoot I'm sorry.. Thought it was within 30 mins...

Its a Radial Engine Cylinder part from a model Airplane used to make the ComLink used in ANH by Luke. the ComLink is also known as a SoroSuub C1 Personal Comlink, the C-3PO one is different from the one Luke has and looks more like it has O-Rings on the side. Both have a Hovi-Mic tip. Here's a replica of the C-3PO version...